We’re used to taking on challenging tasks and punishing deadlines. But after meeting endurance swimmer Adam Walker and legendary explorer Sir Ranulph Fiennes, we’ve reframed our definition of ‘impossible’ – and learned that we’re all tougher than we think.

We all need heroes: people to look up to, who challenge our notion of what’s possible, and encourage us to test and redefine our own physical and mental limits. The trouble is, the word ‘hero’ is bandied around so much these days, it’s lost much of its power (the same could be said of ‘epic’, ‘tragedy’, ‘disaster’ and ‘celebrity’).

Our image of the hero originates, of course, in classical literature. To the Greeks and Romans, and later the Vikings, he was a warrior, often a demi-god or blessed with amazing powers, who lived and died in the pursuit of honour. Today, we tend to think of heroes as those who have done great deeds, or undertaken perilous journeys and assignments and lived to tell the tale.

In November 2016, we had the amazing privilege of meeting two people who definitely meet the second requirement. We were invited to a Breakfast Club event, organised by Kruger Cowne, to hear two modern-day adventurers talk about their lives, challenges and expeditions, and their personal viewpoints on overcoming the challenges they’d set themselves.

Of the two, Adam Walker was the less well-known, at least to us. A self-professed ‘ordinary guy’, he was working as a toaster salesman, of all things, when he suddenly decided to change his life and take on the ultimate endurance swimming challenge, the Oceans Seven. This involves swimming seven sea crossings: the English Channel; the Strait of Gibraltar; the Molokai Strait in Hawaii; the Catalina Channel in California; the Tsugaru Strait, where the Sea of Japan meets the Pacific; the Cook Strait, between the North and South Islands of New Zealand; and the North Channel, running between north-eastern Ireland and south-western Scotland, connecting the Irish Sea with the Atlantic. He became the first Briton and only the fifth person in history to complete this incredible endeavour, and just the second to swim all seven at the first attempt.

Walker really impressed us with his dedication. He gave up everything to achieve his first goal, which was to swim the English Channel, but having suffered near-hypothermia in the attempt, he was advised by doctors not to continue his Oceans Seven quest. Naturally, he ignored them: during subsequent swims, he suffered a ruptured tendon, was hunted by sharks, and got stung by a Portuguese man-o’-war jellyfish, but never quit. He now shares his incredible motivation and drive to overcome pain where most would give up to help others tackle similar open-water challenges of their own. His success is built on replacing negative thoughts (“I’m cold”, “I’m tired”) with positive thoughts (“I’m strong”, “I can do this”) – through his experiences, he’s learned that mental fitness is as important as physical stamina. He’s not a household name, but that didn’t seem to worry him: he does it for himself, not for the glory.

In contrast, the second speaker was someone we definitely HAD heard of. Even getting round his full name – Sir Ranulph Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes, 3rd Baronet, OBE – is quite daunting, while his life story reads like one of his own numerous, and highly successful adventure novels.

Born into an aristocratic family, Fiennes was educated at Eton College, where he made the first ascent of Lupton’s Tower without ropes. He told us the only Etonian to emulate him since, Bear Grylls, had claimed it was harder now because of the barbed wire the school authorities had put in place. To which Sir Ranulph haughtily retorted that this actually made it easier!

True to the classical warrior-hero tradition, ‘Ran’ went on to serve in the Royal Scots Greys and the SAS, before becoming a full-time explorer and adventurer. He was the first person to reach both the North and South Poles by surface means, and the first, with Dr Mike Stroud, to cross Antarctica on foot. In 2009, aged 65, he became the oldest Briton to conquer Everest, raising over £2.5 million for Marie Curie Cancer Care.

Sharp-witted and very charismatic, he had some great stories to tell – not for self-glorification, but just to explain the harshness and extremity of what he had endured and achieved. (He once sawed off the frostbitten fingers of his left hand with a hacksaw to RELIEVE the pain). He reminded us that many had lost their lives attempting these challenges, but that the desire to just keep on going had enabled him to succeed.

If any people could motivate you to push your personal limits, it would be these two.

These days, long-haul flying is routine – even dull. But it wasn’t so long ago that travelling by air was a glamorous, romantic luxury reserved for the privileged few. And in the days of propeller-driven aircraft, flying the Atlantic was slow and potentially hazardous. After the first successful crossing by Alcock and Brown in 1919, it was another 20 years before regular air services were established between Britain and America.

By the late 1950s, however, transatlantic aviation was enjoying a golden age. In 1958, with the up-and-coming jet airliner still in its infancy, the prop-driven aircraft reached its apotheosis in the Douglas DC-6. Originally designed as a military transport plane, it proved amazingly capable with commercial airlines worldwide. More than 700 were built: many are still flying on cargo and fire-fighting duties.

One, however, is destined to carry paying passengers again – and in some splendour, too. British company Cloudmaster is restoring a DC-6 for a syndicate of private owners, who plan to operate it as a charter aircraft, as well as using it for their own pleasure. In its original form, the aircraft could carry up to 102 passengers. Its new interior, created by renowned designers Bannenberg & Rowell, will accommodate just 28 guests, with separate areas offering lie-flat beds, meeting areas, a VIP cabin, bar and lounge, as well as general seating.

It’s an extraordinarily ambitious, and challenging, project. The Cloudmaster team is undertaking a complete restoration of the airframe, avionics and all four engines to as-new specifications and standards. The aircraft also has to pass a complete set of flight trials and crew training before it can re-enter service.

We’ve been lucky enough to play a very small part in this amazing venture, by recreating the master logo artwork from the original design shown on the tailfin. It was a rare opportunity to be involved in something so unique and exacting. In industrial terms, ‘aerospace-grade’ is a generic expression for ‘the best in the business’, which fits exactly with our own fondness for working with top-quality materials and finishes.

We also love the story behind the project, and the spirit in which it’s being conducted: true to the original in its glamour and exclusivity, yet entirely contemporary in its intentions and execution. The team’s vision, determination and refusal to compromise through more than 30 months of technical, aesthetic and regulatory challenges is truly uplifting.

www.cloudmaster.aero

Today, Britain’s elite cyclists are highly-paid celebrities. It was very different back in 1950s, when Eileen Sheridan dominated the sport – and doing it the hard way.

She’s only four-foot-eleven, but Eileen Sheridan is a giant in British women’s cycling. Yet, despite her formidable palmares, she’s almost unknown outside the sport – and not that well-known to the current generation of Middle Aged Men In Lycra, either.

And that’s a shame, because hers is a remarkable story. Born in 1923, she joined Coventry Cycling Club in 1944. Within a year, she was both club and National 25-mile time-trial champion: in 1948, The Bicycle magazine declared that she had ‘rocked the racing world, setting up completely new standards for women’s records’. Three years later, she turned professional with the legendary Hercules team specifically to break records, which she did in spectacular fashion. Her 1,000-mile record of 3 days and 1 hour stood for 48 years: her time of 20h 11m 35s between London and Edinburgh, which she set in 1954, is one of her five records that have never been broken.

What more, Eileen had none of the space-age technology, clothing and nutritional products available even to rank amateurs today. “We used to ride in our baggy shorts, not padded of course, and a sweater with a pocket on the front where we kept our food. It opened like a sail as we cycled!” she told one interviewer. “I wore chamois leather shorts when I was racing, but that’s as smart as it got. There were no showers or anything. We used to finish, find out our time and ride home.’‘ According to another champion racer, now cycling historian, Ramin Minovi: “Her hands were blistered because there was no padding on the bars, just a winding of rough tape, and she kept going on blackcurrant juice, soup, sugar and chicken legs.”

In many ways, hers is a quintessentially British tale: the plucky, sporty girl from the Midlands who reached the top by her own efforts, yet was always modest about her achievements. But make no mistake: this is one steely lady. She once said she’d always regretted that women were never allowed to race against men: “The rules were very strict, which was a shame, because it would definitely draw out the speed. To chase is built into my personality.”

But Eileen wasn’t just a racing cyclist: she also rode for the sheer fun of it, going on long tours with her husband, whom she met through the cycling club and married when she was just 19. She’s a great reminder that life itself is an adventure – and that even when you’re working at the very highest level, you’ve got to love what you do.

By presenting luxury watches as conversation pieces, Adrian Aldred clearly recognises the importance of understanding the customer’s mindset – something we bring to every Warren Creative project.

At an early age, Adrian Aldred became fascinated by the design and construction of Swiss watches, acquiring his first (used) Rolex at 19. Clearly a man after our own hearts, while studying for a BA in product design, he used his student loan to expand his collection, eventually turning his obsession into a thriving business. Adrian soon realised that the fine watch market was dominated by a few big brands. While respecting and admiring names like Cartier, Patek Philippe, Breitling and Omega, he wanted to offer his customers watches from lesser-known high-end Swiss manufacturers.

Through his Convopiece website, Adrian is championing new atelier Swiss brands such as MCT, Akrivia and Andreas Strehler; emerging talents who constantly push the creative and technical boundaries of watchmaking. He offers a truly bespoke service, matching a specific timepiece to the customer’s needs, desires and personality. Crucially, these unique and quirky watches, from unfamiliar brands, prompt the question ‘what IS that?’ They’re conversation pieces – hence the name – and address the thorny question of what to get the man or woman who has everything, including (probably several) watches from the big luxury brands.

Adrian describes Convopiece as being about ‘exceptional taste and personal expression, not conformity or price’, and his mission ‘to understand, compliment and inspire your personal brand’. The very same things that drive us, and underpin every project we undertake.